Townie need help

time lord

I mainly shoot rabbits and need some gutting advice.
When shot and you go up to the kill, can you tell before gutting if its a pregnant female or not. I've shot for years but have always left them for the foxes.
Family, friends etc don't want them. I'm sick of leaving them behind. I've a butcher friend who will show me gutting etc but if I bring in a bag of 7-8 I would feel like a plonker if they were pregnant. It happened once before when I gave a chap two and one was full. I will gut but am a bit squimish for a litter popping out in the field. All slagging aside a good answer would be appreciated..

vermin hunter

to be honest you shouldnt be shooting rabbits if your not prepared to clean it out and eat it. if there hapens to be young inside thats just one of them things no one will laugh or give out over that but leaving good eadable meat in the field is a big no no were i come from

CZ.

ITS A WAST DO YOU NOT THINK THE FOXS GET ENOUGH RABBITS AS FOR CLEANING THEM OUT THEIR IS NOT A LOT TO IT IF NO 1 ELCE EATS THEM WHY NOT SHOT 2 AT A TIME JUST FOR YOURSELF

time lord

I get rang by several farmers who want rabbits gone. They do not want the meat. Nobody I know wants the meat. As for only shoot two, thats not what the farmer wants. He only called me this year because he can't get the stuff to spread mixie in them.
Judging by the answers it is not possible to tell before gutting. Anyone who wants the meat can have it. But instead of leaving it i want to put it to good use and still get knocked asking for help!!!!!!!

It wasn't me!

I would have thought that deliberately introducing a disease such as myxomatosis would be illegal? Perhaps one of our wildlife law experts could inform us?

CZ.

you should have said that i taught you were doing it for fun do you no any 1 that has a few dogs they might take them i wish i had a few famers ringing me

lordarpad

where are you? I'll happily take some rabbits off your hands until I can shoot them myself.

meathstevie

Get a contact for a gamedealer, I'd be surprised if you couldn't get a Euro or two for a bunny. And if not you can still use them as dogfood if they come in excessive numbers as a result of pest control. And as for deliberate mixy spreading, the world has never been short of a few thick cnuts. A couple of afternoons ferreting with nets and a priest will sort out the rabbit problem without causing needless suffering.

time lord

I shoot in the horseleap area Offaly. I dont live there but its festered. Another area I shoot is near Collinstown Westmeath. I usually go for about 2 hours of actual shooting. You would usually get about 10 in that time. Once recently I didnt even see one, so I contacted the farmer and he said he was falling over them the following weekend. That was one month ago.

Dusty87

time lord wrote: »

I shoot in the horseleap area Offaly. I dont live there but its festered. Another area I shoot is near Collinstown Westmeath. I usually go for about 2 hours of actual shooting. You would usually get about 10 in that time. Once recently I didnt even see one, so I contacted the farmer and he said he was falling over them the following weekend. That was one month ago.

I know what you mean time lord. i shoot there too, just before you come to the village. Its over run with them. Ive a huge field to shoot. I was walking all the fields around the area with another lad who has permission to shoot them and its unreal. Who ever says its been a hard few years on the rabbits havnt been to horseleap. Time lord if ya ever want to come help me sort out the field pm me. Lord knows i wont do it on my own:D

sixpointfive

" I will gut but am a bit squimish "
if you cant finish the job you should think about another sport, its not hard to tell if a bunny has a belly full of young before you open her up, you will feel the young and she will be very heavy round the gut area, not cool shootin them if you dont know how to gut em,

time lord

sixpointfive wrote: »

" I will gut but am a bit squimish "
if you cant finish the job you should think about another sport, its not hard to tell if a bunny has a belly full of young before you open her up, you will feel the young and she will be very heavy round the gut area, not cool shootin them if you dont know how to gut em,

Beginning to talk in circles here. NOBODY WANTS THEM. A macho answer but also a pretty useless one.

riflehunter77

time lord wrote: »

Beginning to talk in circles here. NOBODY WANTS THEM. A macho answer but also a pretty useless one.

Not a useless answer just because you dont agree with sixpointfive. I have no problems with lads shooting rabbits because the farmer wants to control the numbers but there will be always some one looking for a few rabbits weather its for there own frezzer or for there dogs. Its not good practice to be shooting 6 or 7 rabbits and just leaving them in the fields for foxes. I only shoot for what I need and if any one else is looking for. Ask around in work im sure you will find some people that will want some, what about the lads that you shoot with will they not take any from you. I was out last friday shot 5, two females 3 males..one female had 5 young when it was gutted now i could not tell from 100 yards away that it was pregent but its one of these things that happens.

jwshooter

if you see a rabbit lying out in a field it is most lightly a doe ,its a learning curve watch them for a bit and you will see the fat doe ,young or buck chasing the does about .
only shoot young rabbits this time of the year also a scruffy looking rabbit most lighly will have young in the burrow .
no one likes shooting pregant rabbits or leaving young to starve .

if you have a lot of rabbits bone them out mince them with some pork belly pepper or what ever grabs you .

they are lovely as a burger

time lord

riflehunter77 wrote: »

Not a useless answer just because you dont agree with sixpointfive. I have no problems with lads shooting rabbits because the farmer wants to control the numbers but there will be always some one looking for a few rabbits weather its for there own frezzer or for there dogs. Its not good practice to be shooting 6 or 7 rabbits and just leaving them in the fields for foxes. I only shoot for what I need and if any one else is looking for. Ask around in work im sure you will find some people that will want some, what about the lads that you shoot with will they not take any from you. I was out last friday shot 5, two females 3 males..one female had 5 young when it was gutted now i could not tell from 100 yards away that it was pregent but its one of these things that happens.

Shooting only what you need is no good for controlling no's. A freezer is a good idea, just broke at the moment. A lot of people who had rabbits in their youth to eat always associate them with lean times.I visit many elderly people in my job and their is a loose concensus on this. One 66 year old has not had rabbit since the early 60's and will never wants to eat another! As for someone suggesting I take up another sport, this type of answer is "useless" and deserves a good dolop of contempt.

time lord

jwshooter wrote: »

if you see a rabbit lying out in a field it is most lightly a doe ,its a learning curve watch them for a bit and you will see the fat doe ,young or buck chasing the does about .
only shoot young rabbits this time of the year also a scruffy looking rabbit most lighly will have young in the burrow .
no one likes shooting pregant rabbits or leaving young to starve .

if you have a lot of rabbits bone them out mince them with some pork belly pepper or what ever grabs you .

they are lovely as a burger

I think you're right as the ones lying out do seem to be largely female/pregnant. If I'm going to eat or store a few I'm shooting them too far out for head shots so I think I'll get closer and try the heads. The mincing seems a good idea. Two large dogs at home aswell who would benefit also. Cheers